This isn't the only occasion something like this happens. If you inadvertently do something out of order in the game, such as exploring and completing certain ? markers or part of a quest out of sequence, you will fail or miss the quest altogether. For what is supposed to be an open world game where you should be able to do anything you wish to in any order as it occurs, comes across as extremely sloppy game design.
I failed Gangs of Novigrad because I did something else prior to the quest, and Dirty Funds and the Viper Armour Treasure Hunt quests are locked for me as well.
What I don't understand are side quests unlocking at 6-8 levels below the main quest I've just completed, denying me the possibility of gaining XP to level up.
It's a great and fun game, but some of the bugs, glitches and shoddy game design make me want to bash the developers' heads against a brick wall until they come to their senses..They were probably on the vodka or rectified spirits when they were coding the game. (Only joking, dev guys, you have done a almost-masterpiece game)...