diff --git a/ingestion/internal/mcp/tools_notes.go b/ingestion/internal/mcp/tools_notes.go
index 72ad383..1a743a8 100644
--- a/ingestion/internal/mcp/tools_notes.go
+++ b/ingestion/internal/mcp/tools_notes.go
@@ -269,6 +269,14 @@ func touchesFrontmatter(oldStr, newStr string) bool {
 // the only thing riding on this preview's accuracy is the envelope check
 // itself, not write safety.
 func checkClaimEnvelope(brainDir, path, oldStr, newStr string) error {
+	if oldStr == "" {
+		// hyperguild#115: strings.Replace treats "" as matching position 0,
+		// which would make an empty old_str look like an edit that inserts
+		// text before the fence — a degenerate-input case that belongs to
+		// notes.Edit's own "old_str is empty" refusal, not to the envelope
+		// check.
+		return nil
+	}
 	before, err := notes.Read(brainDir, path)
 	if err != nil {
 		// Let notes.Edit itself produce the real error (missing file, etc.)
@@ -284,7 +292,18 @@ func checkClaimEnvelope(brainDir, path, oldStr, newStr string) error {
 	// (and thus the validation outcome) unchanged, so this is a no-op for
 	// the common case and fail-closed for every case that touches the
 	// envelope, regardless of how old_str is phrased.
+	_, hadFence := frontmatterBlock(string(before))
 	after := strings.Replace(string(before), oldStr, newStr, 1)
+	_, hasFence := frontmatterBlock(after)
+	if hadFence && !hasFence {
+		// Round 3: an edit that drops the closing fence degrades `after`
+		// to "unfenced" — frontmatterScalars then sees an empty map and
+		// ValidateEnvelope({}) is nil by design (absent fields are valid),
+		// so an invalid value would otherwise land with zero error while
+		// also corrupting the note's structure. A previously-fenced note
+		// must stay fenced, full stop.
+		return fmt.Errorf("edit would remove the frontmatter fence")
+	}
 	return claim.ValidateEnvelope(frontmatterScalars(after))
 }
 
diff --git a/ingestion/internal/mcp/tools_notes_test.go b/ingestion/internal/mcp/tools_notes_test.go
index b32ae14..c2421a5 100644
--- a/ingestion/internal/mcp/tools_notes_test.go
+++ b/ingestion/internal/mcp/tools_notes_test.go
@@ -168,6 +168,34 @@ func TestBrainEdit_RejectsAnOldStrThatCrossesTheClosingFence(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Contains(t, string(got), "claim_provenance: asserted", "rejected edit must leave the note byte-identical")
 }
 
+func TestBrainEdit_RejectsAnEditThatRemovesTheClosingFence(t *testing.T) {
+	// Found in round-3 review: checkClaimEnvelope always validates the
+	// resulting frontmatter of `after` — but an edit whose new_str drops
+	// the closing "---" degrades `after` to "unfenced" in the same call.
+	// frontmatterBlock(after) then returns ok=false, frontmatterScalars
+	// returns an empty map, and claim.ValidateEnvelope({}) is nil by
+	// design (absent fields are valid) — so an invalid enum value lands on
+	// disk with zero error, and the note is left permanently unfenced.
+	// Structural fix: a note that had a valid fence before the edit must
+	// still have one after, or the edit is rejected outright.
+	dir := newBrainRepo(t)
+	note := filepath.Join(dir, "wiki/homelab/facts/n.md")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(note,
+		[]byte("---\ntitle: 'n'\nhalf_life: durable\napplies: universal\nclaim_provenance: asserted\n---\n\nbody\n"), 0o644))
+	srv := mcp.NewServer(dir, nil, nil, nil)
+
+	resp := call(t, srv, "brain_edit", map[string]any{
+		"path":    "wiki/homelab/facts/n.md",
+		"old_str": "claim_provenance: asserted\n---\n",
+		"new_str": "claim_provenance: not-a-real-value\n",
+	})
+	require.Contains(t, resp, "error", "%v", resp)
+
+	got, err := os.ReadFile(note)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, string(got), "claim_provenance: asserted\n---\n", "rejected edit must leave the note byte-identical, fence intact")
+}
+
 func TestBrainEdit_AllowsAValidClaimEnvelopeEdit(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := newBrainRepo(t)
 	note := filepath.Join(dir, "wiki/homelab/facts/n.md")