gistfile1.txt

diff --git a/src/core/loadbytecode.c b/src/core/loadbytecode.c
index b0a28f1..cb8ded3 100644
--- a/src/core/loadbytecode.c
+++ b/src/core/loadbytecode.c
@@ -37,8 +37,10 @@ static MVMString * figure_filename(MVMThreadContext *tc, MVMString *orig) {
             }
             MVMROOT(tc, orig, {
                 result = MVM_string_utf8_decode(tc, tc->instance->VMString, new_path, new_len);
-                if (!MVM_file_exists(tc, result))
-                    result = orig;
+                MVMROOT(tc, result, {
+                    if (!MVM_file_exists(tc, result))
+                        result = orig;
+                });
             });
             free(new_path);
             return result;