Java client throwing DecoderException on client.end

[✅ ] The FAQ doesn't contain a resolution to my issue

Versions

minecraft-protocol: 1.41.0
server: vanilla
node: 18.4.0

Detailed description of a problem

When calling client.end(...) on a connecting 1.19.2 client the connection is lost with the following message: Internal Exception: io.netty.handler.codec.DecoderException: aa: Non [a-z0-9_.-] character in namespace of location: {"text":"no server with subdomain localhost found"}

"no server with subdomain localhost found" is the message I intended to respond to the connecting client.

Current code

     const address = await getLocalAddress();
      const mcServer = mc.createServer({
        'online-mode': false,
        host: address,
        port: MC_SERVER_PORT,
        keepAlive: true,
      });

      mcServer.on('error', (e) => {
        this.logger.error('Error occurred while listening for logins', e);
      });
      mcServer.on(
        'login',
        async (client: ServerClient) => {
            // lines removed for brevity
            client.end("no server with subdomain localhost found");
        }
      );
      mcServer.on('listening', () => {
        this.logger.info(
          `Listening for login attempts on ${address}:${MC_SERVER_PORT}`,
        );
        resolve();
      }); 

Expected behavior

String passed into client.end(...) is what appears to the connecting Java client instead of the exception

Additional context

Start by reproducing the issue with the shown mc.createServer login handler and client.end(...) call on a 1.19.2 connection. Trace the client.end entry point through packet encoding to identify where the supplied message is handled, then verify that the Java client receives the intended text without a DecoderException.