In the opening of Episode 11 of Perfect Crown, we're plunged into a flashback that explains how Prince Yi-an found himself in the council hall during the explosion. It turns out he received a message from Jeong-woo to meet there. On his way, Hye-jung was informed that Yi-yoon intended to enter the throne hall with Prince Yi-an, and she was sent to fetch the king.
Meanwhile, Hui-ju rushes into the burning building to save Yi-an. She hears his voice calling out her name and desperately wishes she would leave. Unfortunately, he passes out, and she tries to drag him outside. Thankfully, Choi-hyun rushes in and helps her save the prince. When everyone returns safely, Hye-jung is worried and grateful, especially towards Choi-hyun. She later tells him this, and he realizes that she likes him too. He assures her that the fire was not her fault.
Yi-rang is worried about what's happening and becomes scared when Yi-yoon comes rushing in, crying about his uncle and the fire. On the other hand, Prince Yi-an falls into a mild coma, but Hui-ju opts to get him medical care from the safety of their chambers. She stays by his side and explains to Court Lady Jin-sook that she saved Prince Yi-an just like he would have saved her.
Jeong-woo comes rushing in, showing concern only for Hui-ju. He asks how long he's supposed to watch her endanger her life for Prince Yi-an's sake. She starts to notice there's something off about him. Hye-jung confirms her fears when she explains that Prince Yi-an was at the council hall to meet with Jeong-woo. Hui-ju spends the night watching her husband and wondering if he's safe anywhere.
In the meantime, Jeong-woo refuses to give any statement about the fire until Prince Yi-an wakes up. With Prince Yi-an in a coma, Hui-ju calls for an investigation into what happened. She has her people look into the comings and goings of everyone at the council hall for the past month. As for matters concerning the royal court staff, she chooses to personally get permission for the investigation from Yi-rang. This time, she faces Yi-rang head-on and reveals her suspicions.
Yi-rang is caught unawares, particularly when Hui-ju spills the tea she had been served and warns her to cooperate, or she'll be seen as suspicious. Naturally, Yi-rang is concerned for Prince Yi-an, so she agrees to the investigation.
After the meeting, Hui-ju is terrified when she learns that Jeong-woo is in her chambers. She rushes to ensure Prince Yi-an's safety. She tries to remain calm as Hye-jung explains that the doctors don't know when Prince Yi-an will wake up. Later, she sees Jeong-woo off but blames her hyper-attentiveness on recent events. She asks him about his missing rosary, and he claims it interferes with his work.
Outside the palace, rumors that the fire led to Prince Yi-an's death begin to spread. Da-young and Tae-joo try to get in touch with Hui-ju, but she doesn't pick up their calls. She simply remains by Prince Yi-an's side.
Jeong-woo hears about the rumors, and the next day he meets with Yi-rang. He essentially tries to threaten her into becoming the next regent. She refuses, and he pushes back, saying she has a duty to the crown and the nation. Just then, Prince Yi-an appears, and Jeong-woo seethes in silence. Prince Yi-an apologizes for worrying them and promises to resume his duties now that he's better.
Hui-ju rushes out to see him after hearing that he's awake. He finds her first and pulls her in for a hug. He tries to scold her for endangering her life to save him, but she cries even more. In the end, he simply embraces her more and apologizes.
In the meantime, Jeong-woo called Sung-won, asking him to tie up loose ends since Prince Yi-an was awake. He recalled his meeting with the prince, where the latter had claimed to be in perfect health. Later that night, Hui-ju asked her husband if he trusted Jeong-woo, and he said yes. She found it hard to tell him her suspicions. The following day, a royal guard was arrested regarding the recent palace arson. Prince Yi-an and Hui-ju found it interesting that they had wrapped up the case quickly. The prince focused on his adorable nephew, who was worried he would suffer the same fate as his dad.
Meanwhile, at the palace, Sung-won slipped while talking to Yi-rang, and she realized he was the one who ordered the gas explosion. She refused to follow his orders. She decided to come clean and promised A-reum that she would try to at least protect her family.
Yi-rang met with Prince Yi-an and confessed everything. She gave him the evidence against her father that Jeong-woo had been holding over her head. She asked him to punish her and her father but spare Yi-yoon. Prince Yi-an asked why she feared him now, but she explained it was not fear. She was only trying to protect him and the crown. He warned her of the punishment for her crimes, and she said she could handle it for her son's sake.
Meanwhile, Hui-ju confronted Jeong-woo while he was at a target shooting practice, preparing to announce the start of the hunting season. She offered to do it instead and then subtly confronted him, asking why the hunting tradition was still upheld. He claimed it was a necessary evil and that the nation determined it. She responded by briefly pulling her gun on him and sarcastically asked about the arrested royal guard.
On her way home, she got a call from her husband asking her to come to their private residence. She found him already drunk and joined him. He told her that he was conflicted about how to punish Yi-rang and Sung-won after her confession. He then fell asleep, and Hui-ju worried about his gentle heart.
The next day, Yi-rang helped Yi-hoon send the last abdication to Prince Yi-an. They were all hopeful that he would accept it this time. In his office, Prince Yi-an met with Jeong-woo to ask about the poisoning case. It turned out that Yi-rang had warned him not to trust Jeong-woo. Sensing that his jig might be up, Jeong-woo told him all about Sung-won. However, he claimed that he had held back his findings because of how they would affect the crown.
Prince Yi-an was confused about what to think since he had expected Jeong-woo to keep the truth from him. He refused to let Sung-won escape his crimes to protect the crown.
He enlightened Jeong-woo that upon becoming king, he would abolish the monarchy. Jeong-woo was taken aback and insisted that he couldn't seek freedom. Prince Yi-an reminded him that the freedom wouldn't be his alone. Later, Jeong-woo walked past Hui-ju in the hallway without even acknowledging her. She ran to the prince's side and checked if he had confirmed his suspicions about Jeong-woo. Unfortunately, Prince Yi-an was still confused.
Sung-won was arrested, and news about his crimes shook up the entire nation, especially the royal family. Yi-rang asked Yi-yoon to trust Prince Yi-an and to run to him when she felt scared.
Prince Yi-an met with Sung-won in prison, telling him that Yi-rang was the one who turned him in, and her and Yi-yoon's fate depended on how deeply he repented. Sung-won realized that there was no way out for him anymore.
Meanwhile, Jeong-woo asked the cabinet to work hard to convince Prince Yi-an against abolishing the monarchy. Hui-ju dropped by his office and asked why he kept Sung-won's crimes from them. He stuck to the same excuse. He brought up the abolition, saying that a king doesn't always get his way. She, in turn, asked what would happen if the monarchy was the necessary evil that needed to be killed. Jeong-woo insisted that it was up to the nation to decide. She ended the conversation by saying they would have to be enemies since they were on opposing sides.
A few days later, Prince Yi-an ascended to the throne in a beautiful ceremony.
