south figaro shortcut

I'm going to be the contrarian and say that since this feature has been part of every iteration of the game, it is a completely intentional design choice.

The sequence can't be completed without dressing as a merchant, so it doesn't completely break the sequence, just makes it easier. This shortcut was a reward for players being thorough, and it isn't exactly hard to discover - I had always assumed there was an unseen walkway there to get from one side of town to the other. As Warrax wrote, this passage fits in with the idea of hidden paths in South Figaro in general.