diff --git a/frappe/client.py b/frappe/client.py
index 60a8983d4e..b43e2afac3 100644
--- a/frappe/client.py
+++ b/frappe/client.py
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ def validate_link_and_fetch(
 	)
 
 	if not search_result:
-		return {}
+		return {}  # Either the record does not exist or was excluded by link_filters
 
 	values = None
 	is_virtual_dt = bool(meta.get("is_virtual"))