In The Palace Thief, one main conflict is a person-versus-person type. This is an ongoing conflict between Mr. Hundert, a teacher, and Sedgewick Bell Jr., who is one of his students.

As a history teacher in a prestigious boys’ prep school, Hundert occupies a position of authority and guidance. He is a dedicated educator who believes strongly that it his responsibility not just to educate the boys about Roman history but also to contribute to their personal development. He takes pride in using innovative methods, which he believes help his students understand the relevance of ancient history to modern life. It becomes a source of frustration and a challenge that Sedgewick is not interested in the subject. In fact, the boy seems determined to expend as little energy as possible in the subject.

Sedgewick is strongly influenced by his elite background, as his father (the senior Sedgewick) is a US senator. He assumes that he can coast through all the academic aspects of school and behave disrespectfully to everyone. Not only does Sedgewick refuse to apply himself, he openly mocks Hundert’s methods. He calls the togas that the boys wear “dresses” and belittles other students.

While it seems that the conflict will be resolved after Hundert catches Sedgewick cheating on an important test, Sedgewick comes out ahead in one sense, because he is not punished for cheating. The school administrators do not allow Hundert to punish him. He was right that his father’s status protected him.