Probably to keep up the farce and to make her think she did have a future (even though her family and most likely the most important part of their staff were aware she was going to be sacrificed...), so that she would work hard for them. And to make her submit to them by instilling fear into her if she were to go against them. It's something only human garbage would do to a child that small.
I hope they explain it later.
Even if they didn't plan to sacrifice her, I don't understand how Leslie could help her sister by knowing all of that. I mean, they planned to either marry Eli into a more powerful family, make her a lady in waiting or turn her into a weapon (if she got the power). I'm assuming that knowledge like that is important in order to be able to have "intelligent" conversations with other nobles. So how could Leslie help Eli at all? She wasn't even allowed to leave the house!
Maybe Leslie had to study like that not because of the knowledge, but because it was a way to get into her head that her purpose was to live for Eli and the Sperado family. So that she would be a more docile sacrifice or something. That's the best explanation I can come up with ╮( ̄▽ ̄)╭
I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I don't really get why she had to learn all that (unless it was as an excuse to beat and starve her) since they didn't plan on letting her live.