Dragoon Unlock Quest Broken By "A Squire's Test II"

So this broke for me 10 years ago and it's still broken:

Platform: PC
ISP: BT and Virgin Media
Type of Internet Connection: Cable and ADSL
Internet Connection Speed: 150Mb and 80Mb
Date & Time: 10 years and counting
Frequency: total
Character Name: KerinTheFirst
Race: Tarutaru
World: Siren
Main Job: Any
Support Job: Any
Area and Coordinates: n/a
Party or Solo: Solo
NPC Name: Morjean
Monster Name: n/a
Steps:
1. Begin Dragoon unlock by talking to Arminibit and Ceraulian and then Novalmauge but don't go any further, specifically DON'T talk to Morjean!
2. Do the whole Paladin unlock chain ("A Squire's Test", "A Squire's Test II" and "Knight's Test") and in particular do the optional talking to Morjean in "Knight's Test II"
3. Return to doing the Dragoon unlock by talking to Morjean.
4. Talk to Morjean

Quest is broken!

What should happen of course is that he tells you about the Wyvern Egg, BUT, in the scenario I followed in 2006 Morjean merely mentions the 'dew drop' he told you about in "Knight's Test II".

Basically, his flag for the Dragoon quest that presumably is set when you talk to Novalmauge has been cleared (or somehow overriden) by talking to him in "Knights' Test II".

Returning to the starting NPCs doesn't fix it, the first two NPCs call me a stranger, while Novalmauge witters on about some 'deep secret' I'll no doubt uncover.

I tried excavating an egg anywhere, just to see, but after going through 2 stacks of pickaxes it became clear I'll never get the egg.

In most normal MMOs the 'fix' would be to simply abandon the Dragoon quest and start it again, but of course FFXI isn't 'normal' like that so there is no way *I* can fix it.