diff --git a/core/encoding/ini/ini.odin b/core/encoding/ini/ini.odin
index 8010e4e75..2bb7996a3 100644
--- a/core/encoding/ini/ini.odin
+++ b/core/encoding/ini/ini.odin
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ load_map_from_string :: proc(src: string, allocator: runtime.Allocator, options
 			if allocated {
 				return v, nil
 			}
+			return strings.clone(v), nil
 		}
 		return strings.clone(val)
 	}