diff --git a/src/core/asl_log_store.c b/src/core/asl_log_store.c
index 78e4fe0..1b2d9d1 100644
--- a/src/core/asl_log_store.c
+++ b/src/core/asl_log_store.c
@@ -210,15 +210,11 @@ static amduat_asl_store_error_t amduat_asl_log_encode_chunk(
                                                   &prev_bytes)) {
       return AMDUAT_ASL_STORE_ERR_INTEGRITY;
     }
-    if (!amduat_asl_log_add_size(&total_len, 4u + prev_bytes.len)) {
+    if (!amduat_asl_log_add_size(&total_len, prev_bytes.len)) {
       free((void *)prev_bytes.data);
       return AMDUAT_ASL_STORE_ERR_INTEGRITY;
     }
     flags |= AMDUAT_ASL_LOG_FLAG_HAS_PREV;
-  } else {
-    if (!amduat_asl_log_add_size(&total_len, 4u)) {
-      return AMDUAT_ASL_STORE_ERR_INTEGRITY;
-    }
   }
 
   if (chunk->has_timestamp) {