diff --git a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdConfigRefWiringTest.java b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdConfigRefWiringTest.java
index 3585d6b..6da002e 100644
--- a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdConfigRefWiringTest.java
+++ b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdConfigRefWiringTest.java
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
  * {@code ConfigRefTest} and {@code FleetdConfigRefCharterToolSurfaceWiringTest} case — because
  * neither of those tests constructs its {@code ConfigRef} through {@code main}; both build their own
  * instance directly, wired with the check by hand. That silent regression is exactly the shape
- * {@link FleetdBackendQuarantineWiringTest}, {@link FleetdLeadSeatWiringTest} and {@link
- * FleetdCompletionResolverWiringTest} already guard against for their own constructor arguments —
+ * {@link FleetdBackendQuarantineAssemblyTest}, {@link FleetdLeadSeatAssemblyTest} and {@link
+ * FleetdCompletionResolverAssemblyTest} already guard against for their own constructor arguments —
  * this class is the same class of gap for fleetd #474's {@code extraValidation} argument, following
  * their approach.
  *
diff --git a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdHerdrControlConstructionTest.java b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdHerdrControlConstructionTest.java
index 01dedf3..f95c5c9 100644
--- a/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdHerdrControlConstructionTest.java
+++ b/fleetd/src/test/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdHerdrControlConstructionTest.java
@@ -2,16 +2,67 @@ package dev.ltms.fleet;
 
 import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.DisplayName;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
 
+/**
+ * {@code AgentControl} caches {@code paneByTerminal}, so {@code HerdrRouter} must be its only
+ * production factory — a second instance means a second cache; the same reasoning applies to
+ * {@code WorkspaceControl}. {@code HerdrRouter}'s constructor is the one place both are built.
+ *
+ * <p><b>This test checks source text, not runtime behaviour.</b> It never constructs a {@code
+ * HerdrRouter} and never runs {@code FleetdAssembly.assembleAndStart} — a green result proves only
+ * that neither watched file's text contains {@code new AgentControl(} or {@code new
+ * WorkspaceControl(}. It does not prove the instances {@code HerdrRouter} does build are the ones
+ * actually wired through the rest of the daemon, and it does not cover a bypass written into a
+ * production file other than the two this test reads.
+ */
 class FleetdHerdrControlConstructionTest {
+
+    private static String source(String relativePath) throws Exception {
+        return Files.readString(Path.of(relativePath));
+    }
+
     @Test
+    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] Fleetd.java never constructs AgentControl or WorkspaceControl directly")
     void fleetdDelegatesStatefulControlsToTheRouter() throws Exception {
-        // AgentControl caches paneByTerminal, so the router must be its only production factory.
-        String source = Files.readString(Path.of("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/Fleetd.java"));
-        assertFalse(source.contains("new AgentControl("));
-        assertFalse(source.contains("new WorkspaceControl("));
+        String source = source("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/Fleetd.java");
+
+        // A broken read (wrong working directory, wrong path, a file that came back empty) would
+        // make the assertFalse checks below pass vacuously — a "clean" negative check that actually
+        // checked nothing. Guard against that first, with an anchor that has nothing to do with
+        // this mutation, so a bad read fails loudly here instead of silently proving nothing below.
+        assertTrue(source.contains("public final class Fleetd"),
+                "the read of Fleetd.java did not come back containing its own class declaration — "
+                        + "the assertFalse checks below would pass vacuously on a broken read; fix the "
+                        + "read before trusting this test.");
+
+        assertFalse(source.contains("new AgentControl("),
+                "Fleetd.java must not construct AgentControl directly — HerdrRouter is its only "
+                        + "production factory");
+        assertFalse(source.contains("new WorkspaceControl("),
+                "Fleetd.java must not construct WorkspaceControl directly — HerdrRouter is its only "
+                        + "production factory");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    @DisplayName("[SOURCE TEXT] FleetdAssembly.java never constructs AgentControl or WorkspaceControl directly")
+    void fleetdAssemblyDelegatesStatefulControlsToTheRouter() throws Exception {
+        String source = source("src/main/java/dev/ltms/fleet/FleetdAssembly.java");
+
+        assertTrue(source.contains("final class FleetdAssembly"),
+                "the read of FleetdAssembly.java did not come back containing its own class "
+                        + "declaration — the assertFalse checks below would pass vacuously on a broken "
+                        + "read; fix the read before trusting this test.");
+
+        assertFalse(source.contains("new AgentControl("),
+                "FleetdAssembly.java must not construct AgentControl directly — HerdrRouter is its "
+                        + "only production factory");
+        assertFalse(source.contains("new WorkspaceControl("),
+                "FleetdAssembly.java must not construct WorkspaceControl directly — HerdrRouter is "
+                        + "its only production factory");
     }
 }