In the early days, Ernest used to protest trying not to get angry.
Do your assignments yourselves.
Don't push your food unto others.
Ernest fought back, but it was four against one – he had little hope of winning.
As his frustration grew, Ernest thought and thought about how he could mitigate this problem. How could he make them repent?
He thought about it a long time and asked his friends Sirius and Matthias for advice.
He decided to talk to his sisters' tutors,
'Could you raise the level of class difficulty to the same as mine? I believe my sisters are ready for the challenge. '
His sisters' tutors had noticed that they had not been doing their assignments themselves. When they were informed that Ernest had been doing it, they were disappointed in their students, and so, were convinced.
They also had pride as tutors.
So he told the tutors; since his sisters claim that they have matured beyond the tasks given them, they will begin to receive classes with the appropriate level of difficulty. He was sure his sisters would repent the moment they had to deal with classes they did not understand.
The tutors agreed and decided that would be a good course of action.
For the time being, that matter was settled. He exhaled a sigh of relief, and then he went to the kitchen.
'My sisters don't like asparagus and paprika, green peppers, tomatoes, and celery. Every day I end up having to eat it all. Can you put the hated vegetables in every dish for next supper?'
If all the dishes for supper were full of vegetables they didn't like; they had two options eat it or go hungry.
He felt that this should solve the problem with his younger sisters; either eat dinner full of yucky vegetables or eat dinner with the veggies as small part of it.
But this was a double-edged sword for Ernest; he also hated vegetables, but there was no alternative. His plans were successful.
Tierra and Lucia found themselves studying things they did not understand. Lydia and Priscilla faced the reality of dinner consisting of dishes they did not like.
Ernest was elated, seeing his sisters' distress. But his elation was short-lived, for…
'Teacher, I can't do this. I have been asking Ernest…I just wanted the Teacher to praise me. You're being evil…'
'Me too! I have been asking the brother to do our assignments…'
Because the classes had become harder, Tierra and Lucia broke down and confessed before their tutors.
Lydia and Priscilla went to the chefs and cried, 'We…we can't eat it! Even if we tried our best, we can't do it…'
Seeing the pitiful appearance of the young ladies, the tutors and chefs relented; they weren't such bad children, after all, they thought. Ernest was also foolishly convinced. (Zuben: This is all a bit silly, isn't it?)
From then on, seeing it worked, when ever Ernest retaliated, they cried in public to invite sympathy. He began to feel like a fool.
They were vicious, cunning and self-righteous.
He felt helpless.
If he retaliated before a lot of people out of frustration, he became an intolerant person, because they used their tears as weapons.
A woman's tears were horrifically strong weapons. (Zuben: Ain't that the god's truth.)
The tutors knew this; every time they were given a difficult task, they cried false tears to get out of it.
The chef knew this; every time they were presented with vegetables they hated, the girls cried to get out of eating it.
They ended up being forgiven.
Even if they knew it wasn't right, they ended up forgiving the girls and letting them go.
On the contrary, should Ernest denounce his sisters too strongly, he would be chastised. In the end, Sirius and Matthias who had been helping him were driven to resignation.
So Ernest came to realize; he was the bad one, and his sisters were good. No matter what had happened as long as they cried. (Zuben: Baby Ernest and Amber are the same. This really could have been mitigated with a "just popping to neighboring country x for some training, see you toot sweet - not!" and bounce out for a few years but no, let's wallow in this 'misery')
In the eyes of people, those who shed tears are automatically protected. And Ernest became a cold-blooded narrow-minded man.
His parents also disappointed Ernest. Both the King and Queen softly protected the girls, but they were strict with Ernest. It felt like a horrible betrayal to him.
He could understand it thinking objectively. But he could not agree with it.
Their parents probably mollycoddled the girls because they felt guilty. They felt guilty that Ernest had been nominated to inherit the throne of Berghausen. (Zuben: But it sounds like they were pampered from the start)