diff --git a/src/utils/markdown.ts b/src/utils/markdown.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd41715
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/markdown.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/**
+ * Renders inline Markdown (bold, italic) to HTML safely.
+ *
+ * - Escapes HTML special characters first to prevent XSS
+ * - Converts **bold** to <strong>bold</strong>
+ * - Converts *italic* to <em>italic</em>
+ * - Standalone asterisks surrounded by spaces are left unchanged
+ *
+ * Pure function — no DOM required.
+ */
+export function renderInlineMarkdown(text: string): string {
+	if (text === "") return "";
+
+	// Step 1: Escape HTML special characters to prevent XSS
+	let result = text
+		.replace(/&/g, "&amp;")
+		.replace(/</g, "&lt;")
+		.replace(/>/g, "&gt;")
+		.replace(/"/g, "&quot;")
+		.replace(/'/g, "&#39;");
+
+	// Step 2: Convert **bold** (must come before *italic* so ** is not consumed as two *)
+	result = result.replace(/\*\*(.+?)\*\*/g, "<strong>$1</strong>");
+
+	// Step 3: Convert *italic* — only matches when content is non-empty and
+	// asterisks are not surrounded by spaces (avoids "2 * 3 * 4" false positives)
+	result = result.replace(/\*(\S[^*]*?\S|\S)\*/g, "<em>$1</em>");
+
+	return result;
+}