[WIP] Fix failing GitHub Actions job 'Build wheels on windows-latest'

[Copilot]

• Inspect the failing GitHub Actions run and job logs for the Windows wheel build
• Reproduce or reason about the failure locally by reviewing the affected build configuration and package code
• Make the smallest possible code or config change to fix the Windows wheel build
• Add or adjust focused tests if the repository has suitable coverage for the change
• Run targeted validation for the affected build/test path
• Run secret scanning and CodeQL review, then report the completed fix