diff --git a/src/network/networkd-route.c b/src/network/networkd-route.c
index abaea4e6c3..0d2765ccf8 100644
--- a/src/network/networkd-route.c
+++ b/src/network/networkd-route.c
@@ -2905,6 +2905,7 @@ int config_parse_multipath_route(
 
         if (isempty(rvalue)) {
                 n->multipath_routes = ordered_set_free_with_destructor(n->multipath_routes, multipath_route_free);
+                TAKE_PTR(n);
                 return 0;
         }