diff --git a/crates/misaligned-bevy/src/main.rs b/crates/misaligned-bevy/src/main.rs
index 709bacc4..ba9b05cd 100644
--- a/crates/misaligned-bevy/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/misaligned-bevy/src/main.rs
@@ -7824,8 +7824,11 @@ fn render_held_choice(
     else {
         return;
     };
-    // Operations owns its own held surface; do not double-draw the card.
-    let card = (game.ops.is_none())
+    // The read is DIGITAL's treatment; REAL stays deferred (digital-read.md).
+    // A REAL player still answers a held choice through Operations, as before
+    // the drill-tier card existed. Operations also owns its own held surface,
+    // so do not double-draw there either.
+    let card = (!mode.material && game.ops.is_none())
         .then(|| game.sim.held_choice_cards().into_iter().next())
         .flatten();
     let Some(card) = card else {
@@ -9025,10 +9028,12 @@ fn render_hover_verb_bar(
         .unwrap_or_default();
     // The pre-commit receipt for the leading device verb: cost + expected
     // signature + observer + band from ActionDesc unmodified
-    // (digital-read.md criterion 2); emission-free verbs say so.
+    // (digital-read.md criterion 2); emission-free verbs say so. The read is
+    // DIGITAL's treatment; REAL stays deferred, so the receipt is blank there.
     if let Ok(mut receipt_text) = receipt.single_mut() {
-        receipt_text.0 = target
-            .device
+        receipt_text.0 = (!mode.material)
+            .then_some(target.device)
+            .flatten()
             .and_then(|id| {
                 game.sim
                     .available_actions(Anchor::Device(id))
diff --git a/wiki/interface/digital-read.md b/wiki/interface/digital-read.md
index bab248e3..07e79128 100644
--- a/wiki/interface/digital-read.md
+++ b/wiki/interface/digital-read.md
@@ -95,6 +95,17 @@ Status note: adopted 2026-07-15 from the Fable playtest debrief (report:
   criterion. **The only item before IMPLEMENTED is decision #9** (criterion
   6, intel levels — small-model / pre-authored / leveled-plot summary
   source); criteria 1-5, 7, and 8 are landed and visually validated.
+  2026-07-15 D7 (correctness pass on the REAL-deferred clause): the held
+  drill-tier card and the reticle receipt now render in DIGITAL only — a
+  REAL player answers a held choice through Operations, as before the
+  card existed; world-space sentences were already DIGITAL-only via their
+  `Flat2dRoot` parent. Interpretation made explicit: the rail READ block
+  remains in both dialects because the instrument rail is shared chrome
+  under the clinical-frame rail contract, and the deferred clause bars
+  standing anchor sentences *in the material world*, not rail lines. The
+  dev two-pane (F8) stays available in both dialects by design (a debug
+  instrument, not a player surface). REAL frame re-captured and reviewed:
+  dial, rail, and Operations unchanged, no receipt leak.
 Stage: B1 — The Basement
 Work order: digital-read
 Work priority: 27
diff --git a/wiki/log/2026-07-15-digital-read-d7-real-gate.md b/wiki/log/2026-07-15-digital-read-d7-real-gate.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a7c8b650
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wiki/log/2026-07-15-digital-read-d7-real-gate.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# digital-read D7: honoring the REAL-deferred clause
+
+```
+Type: log
+```
+
+A correctness pass on my own D2-D3 work. The spec's "REAL stays
+deferred" clause bars the read from the material dialect, but the held
+drill-tier card, its dim overlay, and the reticle receipt row were
+top-level UI with no dialect gate — they leaked into REAL. Both now
+render in DIGITAL only: a REAL player answers a held choice through
+Operations exactly as before the card existed, and the receipt row is
+blank in REAL. World-space sentences were never affected (their
+Flat2dRoot parent already hides them in the material dialect).
+
+Two interpretations made explicit in the status note rather than left as
+drift: the rail READ block remains in both dialects, because the
+instrument rail is shared chrome under the clinical-frame rail contract
+and the deferred clause bars standing anchor sentences in the material
+*world*, not rail lines; and the dev two-pane (F8) stays available in
+both dialects by design — it is a debug instrument outside the player
+surface.
+
+Verified by a re-captured REAL frame (hover-menu harness): dial, rail,
+and Operations unchanged, no receipt line. Frontend gate green.
+
+Defense: wiki/interface/digital-read.md "REAL stays deferred" — the code
+violated the clause this spec itself binds; the fix restores it and the
+note records the two boundary interpretations so they are decisions.
diff --git a/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md b/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
index 94d3e9e9..42d9976e 100644
--- a/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
+++ b/wiki/log/DEVLOG.md
@@ -26,6 +26,11 @@ add or amend a session log, then re-run the generator.
 - Intent: (see session log)
 - Log: [wiki/log/2026-07-15-digital-read-design-session.md](2026-07-15-digital-read-design-session.md)
 
+## 2026-07-15 - digital-read D7: honoring the REAL-deferred clause
+
+- Intent: (see session log)
+- Log: [wiki/log/2026-07-15-digital-read-d7-real-gate.md](2026-07-15-digital-read-d7-real-gate.md)
+
 ## 2026-07-15 - digital-read D6: the warmed standing emission, captured
 
 - Intent: (see session log)