In his novel ‚Lost Illusions‘ Balzac gives a prominent example of a ‚narrative discourse metalepsis‘. While the time of the telling and the time of the told are actually strictly separated throughout the novel, in this passage they appear to be synchronous: the narrator appears to tell his tale ‚while‘ the events told are happening. We briefly review current interpretations of this passage and find them wanting. According to our own interpretation, the passage involves a pretended assertion that moreover employs the linguistic mechanisms of ‘piggy backing’, demonstration, and irony. Based on this explanation of the passage, we determine its intrafictional effect and trans-fictional function within the broader context of the novel.